Allard, Salazar back funding, but split on withdrawal in '08

M.E. Sprengelmeyer, Rocky Mountain News

Friday, March 16, 2007

Colorado's U.S. senators split Thursday over whether to set a timetable for U.S. troops to leave Iraq, but they both rejected a nonbinding resolution to cut off funding for the war.

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Denver, voted for the resolution to set a March 2008 deadline for removing most combat troops from Iraq. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Loveland, voted against the measure.

Both voted "yes" for a resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that "no funds should be cut off or reduced for American troops in the field which would result in undermining their safety or their ability to complete their assigned mission."

Allard and Salazar also were united on a 96-2 vote in favor of a more general resolution, saying "no action should be taken to undermine the safety" of troops.

Some anti-war activists in Colorado and around the country have been pushing members of Congress to go beyond symbolic resolutions and try to end the war by cutting off funds. However, both of Colorado's senators already were on record opposing such a move.

Allard portrayed the votes as a victory for President Bush.

"That basically means the president wins," Allard said. "He's going to keep his ability to manage those troops as he sees fit. I've resisted every attempt for Congress to micromanage the war."

Salazar said he was trying to bring a "new direction" in Iraq while ensuring that troops in the field are supported.

"I want the U.S. to succeed in Iraq," Salazar said. "That requires the Iraqi government taking responsibility for ending the civil war among its sects. U.S. troops should not be a police for the Iraqi civil war."

sprengelmeyerm@shns.com or 202-408-2729